Former SU stars will honor Jim Boeheim at NBA exhibition game at the Dome

Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardSyracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim will be presented with The Sporting News' 2010 Coach of the Year award during the Oct. 15 NBA exhibition game at the Carrier Dome.

But Johnson and Flynn, the Timberwolves’ first-round draft choices in each of the last two years, could wind up taking a backseat to a plethora of former hoops stars, including the two biggest names in Syracuse University basketball history.

Detroit mayor Dave Bing, the Syracuse legend who went on to a Hall of Fame NBA career spent mostly with the Detroit Pistons, will toss the ceremonial jump ball before the game.

Bing will lead a parade of names from Syracuse’s hoops past in honoring Bing’s former college roommate, Jim Boeheim, with The Sporting News’ 2010 Coach of the Year award.

“When Dave Bing accepted our invitation to participate in the opening ceremonies for this event, we were ecstatic,” said Chris Cordes, the national marketing director for One on One Basketball Inc., which is putting on the game. “He is a true basketball legend, one of our own, and the ideal individual to toss the jump ball. Not only is he the first Orange superstar of the modern era and a member of the NBA’s top 50 all time players team, but (he) also happened to star for the Pistons.”

In addition to Johnson and Flynn, Minnesota’s roster should also include former Orange star Jason Hart, who played at Syracuse from 1996 to 2000. A high-ranking T’Wolves official confirmed that Hart, who is attempting to make Minnesota’s roster as a free agent, will play in the Syracuse preseason game.

Minnesota’s Orange-tinted lineup aside, Cordes will trot out a veritable Who’s Who of Syracuse hoops history prior to and during the game between the Timberwolves and the Pistons.

Cordes said at least 20 former SU players will be on hand to help honor Boeheim, who received several national coach of the year awards after guiding the Orange to a 30-5 record and a No. 1 ranking last season.

Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardDetroit Mayor Dave Bing, a former SU and NBA star, will be among other former players at the Carrier Dome Oct. 15 to honor Jim Boeheim.

The list of players includes such legendary names such as Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, Pearl Washington, John Wallace and Lawrence Moten.

Cordes said Flynn, who is still recovering from off-season hip surgery and will not play in the game, will sign free autographs before the game.

The Orange legends — Coleman, Owens, Washington, Moten and Wallace — will be signing autographs prior to the game as well.

With regard to the Pistons-Timberwolves game, the appearance of Bing, though, provides the strongest link between Syracuse University and the NBA. Bing played at Syracuse from 1963-66. He remains one of the greatest players to suit up for the Orange. The Pistons took him with the No. 2 pick in the 1966 NBA draft. He’s a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Boeheim, of course, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 when Bing served as his presenter.

“I think it will mean an enormous amount to Coach Boeheim to have his former college roommate and teammate present as he receives his first ever Coach of the Year Award at halftime,” Cordes added. “We are so thrilled to have him join us.”

Tickets for the game are priced at $39.50, $29.50 and $19.50. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-888-366-3849 or online at ticketmaster.com.